Gov. McAuliffe announces program to help coal tech companies in SW Virginia

Posted:
Friday, August 7, 2015 12:38 PM EDT

TAZEWELL COUNTY (WVVA) -

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe stops by the Two Virginias Friday to announce a program that will help six Tazewell County companies take their products global.

While he flew into Mercer County, the announcement took place at PEMCO in Bluefield, VA.

Gov. McAuliffe talked about how Virginia has been growing in exports, becoming number two on the East Coast, right after Georgia.

Now, the governor is trying to make sure businesses in the Coalfields can help the Commonwealth become number one.

The Go Global with Coal & Energy Technology program is modeled after and linked to the Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) program.

"Last month I recognized our most recent VALET graduates, which was exciting because as a group, they saw their international trade business grow by over 36%, which was worth millions of dollars to these companies," the governor told the crowd.

Six companies are already enrolled and up to ten more can enroll in the next year.

That means 16 companies in the Coalfields could become a lot more of a global competitor.

"We're helping these companies find new customers," explains Paul Grossman, the Vice President of International Trade for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. "As the decline of the US economy and particularly US mining has occured, at the same time, there's been new business opportunities in other countries around the world."

"Basically the state brings you under their wing to help you market your company to international markets," McAuliffe says. "So we do seminars, training, we open the doors for you, we also give you money. Up to $15,000 per company."

And that in turn hopefully means those companies expand and create new jobs.

PEMCO is one of the six Tazewell County businesses enrolled in the Go Global initiative.

PEMCO actually first took part in the VALET program about 10 years ago.

Johnson told WVVA, "We had, I want to say, a 30% growth on international sales at that time so the program works."

Grossman says just like individuals need to have a diversified portfolio, companies in today's world need to have customers around the world to balance economic ups and downs.

When a company comes into the program, they're in it for a period of two years.

More than 200 companies in the commonwealth graduated from the program with an average increase of 54% in international sales.

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(NEWS RELEASE)

RICHMOND – Governor Terry McAuliffe announced today the Go Global with Coal & Energy Technology (GGCET) program, a collaboration of the Governor’s Office, the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA) and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) as a result of the Governor’s 2014 Energy Plan.

Speaking about today’s announcement at an event in Bluefield, Virginia, Governor McAuliffe said, “Finding innovative ways to help grow and expand existing Virginia businesses is a key component of my Administration’s efforts to build a new Virginia economy. As part of my Energy Plan, I laid out a vision for developing a robust outreach program that facilitated access to international markets for coal supply chain companies based in Southwest Virginia. GGCET gives these businesses in the Coalfield region an opportunity to export their expertise and products, helping them prosper and create jobs.”

“Finding customers for our Virginia companies in international markets is one of the key expansion strategies that we must pursue to keep our economy growing,”said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Maurice Jones. “I want to congratulate VCEDA and VEDP’s VALET program for partnering to help grow our companies, especially in a region of the Commonwealth that is in the midst of transforming itself for growth in the 21st century.”

The GGCET program assists coal and energy technology companies in the Virginia coalfield region in expanding their international business. GGCET offers a powerful combination of resources provided by VCEDA and VEDP and professional services from expert, private-sector partners. GGCET is modeled after and linked to VEDP’s award-winning Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) program.

“Selling into global markets strengthens Virginia companies,” said Martin Briley, President & CEO, VEDP. “As more and more mining operations are conducted outside of the U.S., Virginia coal and energy technology companies have to look to international markets for growth. VEDP is eager to work with companies in the GGCET program to find new customers around the globe.”

“VCEDA is very excited about the Go Global with Coal and Energy Technology program, which will assist our region's coal and energy technology companies with support and access to resources to help expand their international sales and markets,” said Ron McCall, Chairman of the VCEDA Board.

Each year for the next two years, up to 10 qualifying companies will ramp up their global marketing efforts through this comprehensive, two-year international business acceleration program. Companies will receive:

Up to $15,000 toward export-related expenses

Strategic international business planning

Professional resources through VEDP’s International Trade program partners

Mining-related export seminars

Participation in a Virginia booth at two international mining trade shows

The following six companies have been accepted into the first year’s GGCET Program:

Company

Description

Website

Ceramic Technology,Inc.

Ceramic Technology, Inc (CTI) coordinates engineering and production teams to build ceramic component process systems to meet the needs of the coal and power industries.

PBE USA supplies the U.S. coal mining industry with the most technologically advanced communication and monitoring systems available. PBE Group has separate divisions in mining, tunneling and contract manufacturing.

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